Weaknesses: Almost no grip at all. Downhill the front tyre doesn't send the bike where you point it. Uphill (unless in desert conditions) the back tyre just spins hopelessly. They are not particularly light. Just pray you don't hit any wet grass!

Bottom Line:

The only reason you should own these is if they came with your new bike. Only ride a bike fitted with them if you have a death wish!

I thing these tires are fairly good. The are fast in straitaways, but have some traction problems with cornering. They need to be replaced after 3500 km. I will definately be buying a different type of tire. However, this mat be due to the vast selection of mb tires available, and the desire to find the perfect tire for my riding style.

Stock on my rocky - unfortunately I wouldnt recommend this to ANYONE intending to ride it with a bike with even 4-5" of suspension travel... Simply because it just wont want to play with the sorts of things you do.

Ok, its probably because Rocky (rightly or wrongly) sees the ETSX as a marathon bike, despite the fact that its rarely used for that application and that tires for marathon riding are a very individual preference.

Personally speaking - I would use these in a marathon or easy XC situation (for which, dont get me wrong, they are pretty good, though not near the Ralphs) - however, I wouldnt use them on anything technical and would avoid any kind of descent (other than a super smooth one) like the plague.

Riding the bike I have, the way that I do, I would have to say that I would NEVER choose these tires, however I would never choose any kind of marathon rated tires for general every day/techtrail usage.

If you want a marathon tire, you can do worse, however you can do much better also.If you intend to use it for anything other than basic XC or smooth trails then look elsewhere - but if you ride smooth trails or marathons then its worth considering.

Value - 3, Stock on my bike, will not be replaced with the same and so will not be looking up the prices for, middle of the road given for this reason.Overall - 4, good for what it is (a marathon tire) but useless ay anything else - as an everyday tire its seriously lacking, but as a tire to fit for marathons it has its uses and since this is what it was designed and named for it deserves to be recognised as a halfdecent marathon tire.